That Damn Crowbar
by macko-99
Summary: Jason hears of the Dealer's auction and witnesses just how much he means to his older brother. New-52-ish set during Dick's tenure as the Dark knight. Angst warning in effect.


**This is a weird but interesting idea that I got, and with some help from oh-mother-of-darkness on Tumblr it evolved into this fic.**

 **I do not own DC, Batman or any related works.**

 _The Auction house_

Jason had heard of this supposed auction months ago. He thought it was a pretty funny, that rich people would actually want some of the souvenirs from some of the great crimes of Gotham.

He had heard of some of the items being sold. There were a couple of guns that had actually hurt Batman, Joker cards, one of Harley's mallets, one of Catwoman's whips, batarangs and birdarangs, and other stuff like that.

Only in Gotham would the rich want things like this.

In all fairness he was going to ignore the Auction, maybe leave a tip-off to the GCPD about it happening. Leave Dick and Gordon to handle it.

However he decided to investigate because he had heard that a very special item was being auctioned off. A piece that had changed the game ever since.

Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to investigate.

He picked out a decent suit which could fool anyone into thinking he belonged to high-society, gelled back his hair and plastered on his best fake-smile.

He could have fooled the man at the door with his looks alone, but what clinched it was stealing the invite and ID from another man, who was now having a very deep sleep in the boot of his car.

He slipped in and looked around the room. It was a who's who of Gotham's dirty rich. Corrupt politicians, dirty businessmen, mob bosses and mistresses were all here, wanting a piece of what helped them get rich in this city.

Jason kinda felt a bit sick and was actively stopping himself from pistol-whipping every prick in the room.

The large number of guards was the only thing that was stopping him, so instead he grabbed a strong drink from the bar and settled down in a corner and watched the proceedings.

He saw nearly all of the items go for ridiculous amounts of money. The Batarangs and Joker cards went for thousands of dollars. Harley's hammer and Catwoman's whip went to one particularly sleazy businessman who looked to have a major fetish going on.

He made a mental note to tell Selina and Harley about him having their stuff.

The special item was the last lot and by the time it came about Jason was as bored as hell. If it turned out to be nothing he was going to kneecap the Dealer. And then pistol-whip every idiot here.

Just before the piece was brought out Jason happened to look up on the roof and his eyes narrowed at a particularly dark shadow.

Of course Dickie-bird would be here.

Since he was here Jason's plan was now to just leave after the item was shown and have Dickhead sort everything out.

The Dealer spoke up and his excitement was evident in his voice as the item was brought out;

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is the final lot of the evening. Thank you all for attending tonight. I hope that you appreciate the pieces that you have already purchased. But this is the item that everyone here has been waiting for, myself included. Now without further ado, here it is."

The cloth covering the item was pulled off and every muscle in Jason's body tightened as his mind flashed back to a warehouse in Ethiopia and a made Clown asking what hurt most.

"As you can see the item in question is the very crowbar that was used by the Joker to beat the second Robin in a warehouse in Ethiopia, who was then killed by an explosion."

Jason slowly put down his drink and moved his hands to the suppressed guns in the back of his trousers, not breaking eye contact with the crowbar for a second. Nobody was coming out of this alive. Dick can go to hell with his code.

"Now the starting price is $100,000. Can I get $120,000," The Dealer droned on and Jason was about to take aim when a shadow dropped in front of the dealer to punch him to the ground.

Jason realised that this was the angriest he had ever seen Dick as he charged into the guards and other goons. He was fighting in a way that Jason had never seen. It was raw, it was feral and it was brutal.

Jason stepped back and could only watch as Batman broke bones and gave out concussions. He was very close to killing them but he still didn't cross the line.

But he was being overwhelmed as there were just too many goons. Jason was about to step in but then he saw a flash of metal hit a man. Batman had found a weapon.

Jason could only stare as Dick used the tool which was responsible for his death to beat the hell out of every goon in the building. And he was fighting even worse than before. It was evident to Jason that Dick hated himself for using the crowbar.

Nearly all of the rich guests had made a run for it when the Bat dropped in. Jason kept himself in the shadows and out of sight for the fight.

He realised that Dick had the fight won so he made a silent exit. He moved to the opposite building's roof and finally began to process what he had seen.

His brother was angry. No scratch that, Dick was furious. And it made Jason realise that he still cared for him. And all he had done was turn down every hand held out to him.

Jason just couldn't take it anymore and he broke down, crumbling to his knees and letting out all of the tension that had built up in him from seeing that damn crowbar.

He only stopped when he heard the batmobile fly past. He looked down at the entrance to the auction house and he saw Dick walking out holding the crowbar. He looked like hell with blood on his knuckles and a dark scowl on his face. He threw the crowbar into the flying car, followed it in and then flew away, much faster than normal.

Jason watched it go before wiping his tears and turning back to the auction house.

He wanted to have a little chat with the Dealer.

* * *

 _Gotham Docks_

Alfred climbed out of the car and pulled his warm coat tighter to his body.

In his hand was the crowbar, wrapped in a cloth.

Alfred unwrapped it and stared at the metal tool, remembering the young boy which it had destroyed and the monster that had used it.

His grip tightened and he blinked away tears. At least he could now remove the damned thing from the earth, though if he had the correct resources he would have melted the thing down to molten slag.

He pulled his arm back and was about to let the thing fly into the water, when a voice stopped him.

"Hey Alfie," Alfred lowered his arm and turned to see a very sombre-looking Jason stepping towards.

"Master Jason." Jason had a sad half-smile. But he dropped it when his eyes dropped down to the crowbar.

"Dick?" Jason asked quietly.

"He asked me to get rid of it in the river." Alfred explained.

"Couldn't do it himself?"

"The night took a lot out of him."

"Heh, yeah it did." Alfred's eyebrows rose slightly at this information but he did not let it show for long, ever the stiff upper lip.

Jason lifted a hand out of his pocket and held it out to the older man. Alfred seemed hesitant but relented and handed the crowbar to Jason.

Jason stared at it and felt the weight. It was heavier than he thought it would be.

"It's always there," He revealed. "In my dreams, in my eyes, and even when I take a piss. It's always there laughing."

"It does not have to. You can let it go." Alfred put a warm hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Or I can throw it away." Jason smirked slightly and even Alfred had a small smile.

"That to," Alfred agreed.

Jason chuckled before steeling his face and pulling his arm back. He then threw the damn piece of metal into the river with all his strength.

The pair watched the crowbar sale upwards before coming down and hitting the water with splash and sinking beneath the surface, lost to everyone.

The two men looked at the river before turning to each other.

"Do you feel better?" Alfred asked his former charge.

"Much. You?"

"Yes. Very much so," Alfred replied with the warm smile of a grandfather.

"Hey my place isn't far from here. Want to get a cup of tea?" Jason asked, nonchalantly.

"I would like that very much young sir."

"Cool." The two men turned to Alfred's car, a great weight missing from their shoulders.

 **The End.**

 **So this is New-52-ish because I think Jason was never sent to Blackgate or Arkham in that continuity, so he would have been free during Dick's time in the batsuit.**

 **Thank-you for reading and comments are always appreciated.**


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